1986 300E - W124 front struts or shocks?
 

When I drive over rough road the front of my car feels like one of the struts is going. While parked when I press up/down on the fenders there seems to be a strut noise from the drivers side- sounds like there is just a bit of play at the top mount. However when I look it looks like my car just has very thick shocks - can't see any coil springs (struts). Any help would be appreciated. They look easy to replace - it looks like just unbolting and replacing -- is this correct? Could the noise / loose feel over bumps -- be the strut (shocks) mount?

My nice - like new looking 300E that i just bought seems to now have a list of problems that need attention however I still love her.

Since the car has no upper control arm that is considered a strut! Replacement can affect alignment. Yes it also is a shock absorber.

Always replace the upper mount with new "struts".

the car does have coil springs in the front. They are not the kind where the strut is inside the spring though (like you see on coilovers or macpherson struts), which is where you may be looking for them.

Yes, it is possible to replace a strut on a 124 without a spring compressor, but one must be very careful.

Peter

What kind of symptoms are you getting? Is it clunking? Is it play in the steering wheel? Is it the steering wheel swinging left and right going over bumps? Each of these symptoms could be something different, not necessarily related to the strut or strut mounts.

If you ARE going to change the strut/mounts, be very careful to use a proper (i.e. Mercedes or equivalent) spring compressor, or ensure that the weight of the car is on the front springs, and that the control arm is not supported by a jack. The springs store a lot of energy, and if the strut is unbolted, there is no limit stop on them. Which means they can go flying and punch holes through people and walls.